Laws regulate all aspects of our lives. The electoral process is no exception. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, the Electoral Act 2010, as amended and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Rules and Regulations constitute the legal framework which regulates our electoral process. Provisions of these deal with the right to associate, vote, form Political Parties etc. Others include registration of voters, Election Day procedures, dispute resolution, etc.

Breaches or violations of some of these provisions often attract penalties, which on conviction may be a fine, a term of imprisonment, or both. Any conduct – action or inaction which is prohibited by the Constitution or the Electoral Act and a breach of which attracts punishment, is called an electoral offence. Electoral offences may be committed by INEC or Security Officials, Political Parties and their officials, Candidates, Observers, Journalists/Media Houses or the general public.

Listed in this leaflet are some of the electoral offences prescribed by Nigerian Law as at 31st January, 2017. Anyone in breach of any of these provisions is liable to being arrested and charged to court and prosecuted by INEC after investigation by the relevant Security Agencies.

Information

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was established by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to among other things organize elections into various political offices in the country.The functions of INEC as contained in Section 15, Part 1 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) and Section 2 of the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended)